On The Bayou Owner Plans New Concept at Paper Table
New Orleans-style restaurant relocates to downtown food hall.
Site of Paper Table, 733-737 N. Milwaukee St. Photo taken Oct. 31, 2022 by Sophie Bolich
On The Bayou has been on the move — almost nonstop — for the better part of a year. Within the past seven months, the New Orleans-inspired restaurant has operated at Nō Studios‘ Skyline Bar + Lounge and out of a commercial kitchen space on the far Northwest Side.
The restaurant, now known as NO BAYOU, recently relocated once again, and plans to open a ghost kitchen later this summer at Paper Table, 733-737 N. Milwaukee St.
“I was looking for something that was on a smaller scale than what I had before,” said Chef Gregory Johnson, who co-owns the business with his wife, Janice.
The couple first opened the restaurant, originally called The Big Eazy, at 2053 N. Martin L King Jr Dr., in Bronzeville, back in 2013. After a period of closure, it reopened as On the Bayou in 2018, where it continued until December 2023.
Johnson said he’s hopeful that the foot traffic and tourism in the downtown area will create a successful environment for the restaurant, which suffered during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
NO BAYOU will be open for takeout and delivery only. Johnson said he’s looking forward to bringing “the same flavor and same food on a different scale to a new audience.”
“I really think they’ll appreciate the kind of food that I make,” he said.
In addition to long-standing, Creole and Cajun menu items including gumbo, jambalaya, deep fried catfish and blackened salmon with etouffee over dirty rice, the upcoming restaurant will feature new offerings like a fried pork belly po-boy with tangy barbeque sauce and pickled red onions.
For a sweet finish, Johnson is introducing beignets — available in orders of three, six or 12. The yeast-raised, deep fried pastries are served with a generous dusting of powdered sugar.
Johnson also plans to serve his son’s signature chocolate chip cookies — a recipe the New Orleans-based baker developed and perfected himself.
To drink, the restaurant will serve cafe au lait and non-alcoholic hurricane and hand grenade cocktails. The fruity drinks are typically rum-based and served in distinct glassware, but Johnson’s version will nix the alcohol and use to-go cups.
Johnson has his eyes set on a mid-August opening, and is just waiting on final inspections before the restaurant is “ready to go,” he says. NO BAYOU will continue its catering services, but will pivot to pick-up orders only.
Once open, NO BAYOU will join Adonis Burger, Corin’s Crab, Spice N Rice, Wingstop and Temple Goddess as operators at the Paper Table. Mochidon, a Las Vegas-based pastry shop, is also slated to open at the food hall in the near future.
Correction: A previous version of this article used the former name of the restaurant.
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